n the
boat as straight up and down as a fathom of pump-water--a marvel of
importance. "Charts!" cried I, as soon as his shirt-collar appeared
over the sloop's rail; "have you any charts?" "No, sah," he replied
with much-stiffened dignity; "no, sah; cha'ts do'sn't grow on dis
island." Not doubting the information, I tripped anchor immediately,
as I had intended to do from the first, and made all sail for St.
John, Antigua, where I arrived on the 1st of June, having sailed with
great caution in midchannel all the way.

The _Spray_, always in good company, now fell in with the port
officers' steam-launch at the harbor entrance, having on board Sir
Francis Fleming, governor of the Leeward Islands, who, to the delight
of "all hands," gave the officer in charge instructions to tow my ship
into port. On the following day his Excellency and Lady Fleming, along
with Captain Burr, R. N., paid me a visit. The court-house was
tendered free to me at Antigua, as was done also at Grenada, and at
each place a highly intelligent audience filled the hall to listen to
a talk about the seas the _Spray_ had crossed, and the countries she
had visited.

CHAPTER XXI

Clearing for home--In the calm belt--A sea covered with sargasso--The
jibstay parts in a gale--Welcomed by a tornado off Fire Island--A
change of plan--Arrival at Newport--End of a cruise of over forty-six
thousand miles--The _Spray_ again at Fairhaven.

On the 4th of June, 1898, the _Spray_ cleared from the United States
consulate, and her license to sail single-handed, even round the
world, was returned to her for the last time. The United States
consul, Mr. Hunt, before handing the paper to me, wrote on it, as
General Roberts had done at Cape Town, a short commentary on the
voyage. The document, by regular course, is now lodged in the Treasury
Department at Washington, D. C.

On June 5, 1898, the _Spray_ sailed for a home port, heading first
direct for Cape Hatteras. On the 8th of June she passed under the sun
from south to north; the sun's declination on that day was 22 degrees
54', and the latitude of the _Spray_ was the same just before noon.
Many think it is excessively hot right under the sun. It is not
necessarily so. As a matter of fact the thermometer stands at a
bearable point whenever there is a breeze and a ripple on the sea,
even exactly under the sun. It is often hotter in cities and on sandy
shores in higher latitudes.

The _Spray_ was booming joy